Space: Google Android's Next Frontier

Google's little green droid is going places, and its next destination? Space, the final frontier.

In collaboration with NASA, Google's Nexus S phones are used in tandem with the agency's SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites), to capture video footage and sensor data.

The video below demonstrates how the Nexus S, when connected to the SPHERES, will essentially capture and inform the robotic satellite where to go, effectively using the processor, camera and sensors within the Nexus S.

Data capturing is enabled by an open source sensor logging app built by Google's engineers, which gathers measurements from all available sensors while recording video or taking time lapse pictures.

Ultimately, it was Android's easy customization abilities that gave NASA the push to utilize the Nexus S. Remote controlling of the SPHERES is still in the works, with the possibility of using the Wi-Fi function, which connects to the space station and downlinked to the ground control.